Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium

Lore & Background

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium opened in 1954 specifically for the World Wrestling Championship. It later served as the gymnastics venue for the 1964 Summer Olympics. From 1986 to 1990, the complex was completely rebuilt to a futuristic design by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki. The main arena seats 10,000 people, with 6,000 fixed seats and 4,000 temporary ones. The sub-arena houses an Olympic-size swimming pool (50m x 20m, eight lanes) with seating for 900, plus a 25m pool (25m x 13m, 6 lanes), an outdoor oval running track, a weight training room, and conference rooms. Since April 1, 2006, the Tokyo Lifelong Learning and Culture Foundation, along with Suntory, Tipness, and O-ence, manage the gymnasium.

Reader's Guide

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is located in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a one-minute walk from Sendagaya Station on the Chūō-Sōbu Line and Kokuritsu Kyogijo Station on the Toei Oedo Line. The sub-arena has an Olympic-size swimming pool (50m x 20m, eight lanes) with seating for 900, plus a 25m pool (25m x 13m, 6 lanes), an outdoor oval running track, a weight training room, and conference rooms. Fees for use of the facilities (as of June 1, 2006): training gym/2 hours: 450 yen; pool/2 hours: 600 yen; pool (junior high school students and younger)/2 hours: 260 yen; training gym and pool/2 hours: 1000 yen; training gym, pool and dance studio/1 day: 2500 yen; one month pass: 7800 yen.

Did You Know?

• The first two international regular season NBA games were held here on November 2 & 3, 1990, between the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.
• Since 2000, the first artist to perform a concert here was the Japanese group Porno Graffitti.